The Right Thing
by Aerial312
Summary: Set right before the end of ANH. Han is sticking around for the medal ceremony, but is he really staying any longer than that?
_[ANGELICA]_ _
_ _So so so—  
So this is what it feels like to match wits  
With someone at your level! What the hell is the catch? It's  
The feeling of freedom, of seein' the light_ _  
_ _It's Ben Franklin with a key and a kite! You see it, right?_

 _-"Satisfied", Hamilton_

The hangar was oddly quiet. Maintenance droids beeped about doing their assigned tasks, but that was about it. Most of the Alliance was involved in preparations for the medal ceremony later that afternoon. Those who were not actively setting up in the old ruins had been tasked with getting cleaned up and presentable for the formal occasion. There was something kind of peaceful about the lack of human presence.

Han stood on the ramp of the Millennium Falcon enjoying the slower pace of the day. It was nice to not be constantly be bombarded with some request for help. Earlier in the morning an officer had kindly offered him the use of a shoe shine kit, undoubtedly after seeing the state that Han's boots were in. But hell if he was going to use that stuff inside his ship. It would stink for days.

Boots in hand, Han walked over to a storage box, hoisted himself up on top of it. He wiped down the black leather with a rag, then opened the polish. He frowned. This was going to make a mess. It probably would have been better to wait to put on the clean clothes until after he'd shined the boots.

Though it had been years since he'd made the effort, Han completed the task quickly, and somehow managed to keep from getting black stains on his newly laundered shirt and trousers. Across the hangar, something caught his eye. He wasn't alone after all. The Princess sat at the Deck Supervisor's desk, and was focused deeply on the screen in front of her.

It was the first time he'd seen her in the last two days, since the celebration, and he almost didn't recognize her. She was dressed simply in a pair of slacks, and a uniform shirt several sizes too big for her small frame. Gone were the ridiculous buns on either side of her head, and instead her hair was swept up into one elegant bun wrapped in a braid. What a difference these little things made in how he saw her. Instead of the petulant child he'd first perceived her as, and even the dedicated, operative he'd realized she was, this focused young woman was…stunning.

Han found himself hopping off the storage box, and heading in her direction, still stocking-footed. How strange she was still working down here when the ceremony was so soon. Especially when she was the one giving out the medals. His walk over to her was cut short by the entrance of a severe looking uniformed woman striding toward the Princess.

"Your Highness?"

Leia looked up from her work. "Yes?" She sounded annoyed.

"It really is time to get dressed for the ceremony."

"I need to finish this," Leia returned her focus to the computer in front of her.

"You need to be down there in forty-five minutes," the woman insisted sternly.

"My hair is done already," Leia told her. "It takes, what, five minutes to put on a dress? I will be up to change shortly."

"Yes, ma'am," the woman replied, trying not to let her frustration show in her voice. She strode back toward the door.

A moment later, Han perched on the desk beside her work station.

"Captain Solo," she greeted him with a nod, her tone neutral.

"You seem about as interested in going to this damn ceremony as I do."

She sighed and leaned back in her chair, looking at up at him. "It is important."

"How?"

"Morale," she answered easily, but picked her words a little more carefully as she continued. "I'd rather keep working on these timelines for the base move, but I…we…think it is important to recognize a job well done."

Han nodded. It made sense. "Base move?" he asked.

"It's not official yet," Leia told him. "We may have destroyed the Death Star—" 

"But they know where to find you."

"Right."

"So what is the timeline?"

"We have a short list of options. Tomorrow scouts will vet the locations even further. Hopefully we can relocate by the end of the month," she paused for a moment, looking up at him. "Why does it matter to you? I thought you were out of here as soon as possible?"

"I'm staying to get the silly medal, aren't I?"

"From what I hear, you'd be gone already if Luke hadn't persuaded you to stick around."

It was true. He'd very willingly stuck around for the post battle celebration, but he'd been ready to hightail off Yavin with his money as soon as the alcohol-induced fog faded, if he hadn't gotten a guilt trip from the kid.

"You sure know how to play him," Han told her.

"Luke understands what is right," Leia insisted.

"To a fault."

"I don't believe there's such a thing."

"Your Worship, you know damn well that things aren't that simple," Han laughed. "You were a senator."

"I can still strive to do the right thing," she replied. "I have to."

"You never _have_ to," he argued.

She shook her head for a reason. "I was spared for a reason."

"Ah." Right. Alderaan. Her all-business manner didn't belie the fact that her home planet, probably her entire family had been blown away less than a week ago, but every now and then she slipped.

"But that's not important right now," she insisted.

Okay. He might needle her on some things, but this he could let go. He could leave her to handle her grief in her own way with him being an asshole. After a moment he asked, "Can't we all define the right thing differently? Maybe paying off the debt on my head might be the right thing for me right now?"

She contemplated that for a moment. "No matter what you think the right thing might be for you, you did do the right thing the for greater good. You came back to help in the battle when it mattered."

"And you're giving me a medal for it," he smirked.

"Yes," she sighed.

"In half an hour."

"I see you've put a lot of effort into looking respectable," she snorted. "Wearing your usual-"

"It's clean at least," he insisted.

She laughed. "Where…where are you shoes?" She had only just now realized he was sitting on her desk with only socks on his feet.

"I just finished shining them," he told her proudly. He was, perhaps, a bit more proud of being ready to look put together as she gave him a medal of the crowd than he thought he'd be. "I'll even button my shirt," he added. "Unless you'd rather I left it open?"

She shook her head, standing up. "You really do think a lot of yourself." She started for the door.

"I can't wait to see what _you're_ wearing, Princess," he called after her. "Unless you're just planning on wearing that hot shirt…"

She shook her head at him again, as she disappeared into the hallway, but she was smiling. Han headed back toward the Falcon, buttoning his shirt as he went. He retrieved his boots from the storage crate and pulled them on. A base move presented an interesting opportunities, both in terms of money and in keeping him around the intriguing Princess. There was lots to think about, but first it was time to put on a smile and wave for just getting it done in the last battle.


End file.
